


Don't Have to Mean a Thing

by Nicci



Category: Firefly
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-24
Updated: 2011-02-24
Packaged: 2017-10-15 22:05:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/165381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nicci/pseuds/Nicci
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    <br/><img/></p>
  <p>Jayne seems to understand that Simon's first priority is looking after River, but even a quick and uncomplicated bump and grind leaves Simon acheing for more from the Merc.</p>
  <p>This fic was originally written and posted in December 2005</p>
</div>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Have to Mean a Thing

Simon gasped, neck arching against the hot press of lips and tongue and teeth against his throat. His eyes drifted closed with the gentle exhalation of air as his fingers tightened on Jayne's t-shirt. To say that he was surprised would be the understatement of the year. He was way past surprised and heading rapidly towards dazed.

"Knew you'd taste like this," Jayne mumbled against this throat, tongue lapping wet stripes from Adam's apple to chin. "Like honey and apples and..."

"Jayne!" Simon groaned, forcing his eyes open and relaxing the death grip his finger's had on the tight grey fabric. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Jayne straightened, looking him right in the eye. "Thought that was kinda obvious, Doc," he illustrated with a roll of his hips, letting Simon feel the hardness of his erection trapped between them "but if ya need me to spell it out. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna fuck ya!"

The sheer coarseness of the words finally brought Simon back to reality. Shoving hard, he managed to make Jayne stumble backwards, allowing him a little breathing space. Running his fingers quickly thought his mussed up hair, he turned his back on the grinning mercenary and braced his trembling hand on the wall of the shuttle.

"Not going to happen. Not while I'm in my right mind at any rate," he assured Jayne over his shoulder. A moment later he felt the heat of Jayne's body against his back, although he hadn't heard Jayne move.

"You gonna tell me you ain't wired that way?" Jayne growled in his ear. "Gonna tell me you don't bed men? Well pardon me but that sure felt like a class A boner stickin' me in the leg when I was a'sucking on yer neck!"

Simon whirled around, ready to refute the preposterous statement, forgetting how close Jayne was standing, and came up against a wall of warm flesh and the intoxicating aroma of musk. He gulped, trying to make his eyes travel past the delicious vision of peaked nipples poking through pale grey fabric, to look Jayne in the eye. Of course his eyes betrayed him and stayed firmly fixed on the nipples.

"Maybe you need a while to mull it over, Doc?" The smugness of his tone finally had Simon's eyes travelling north but they stalled on the son-of-a-bitch's mouth. "You know where ma bunk is." Nice teeth. The man had really nice teeth. Simon blinked and finally met Jayne's eyes.

"When hell freezes over," he ground out.

"We'll see." Jayne hit the hatch release button and ducked out into the corridor, leaving Simon alone in the shuttle. He stood in the middle of the cramped craft, watching Jayne swagger off with his mouth hanging open. What the hell just happened? What the fucking hell had just transpired here?

They'd been arguing. Nothing new there. Six hours alone in the tiny shuttle listening to Jayne's impressive repertoire of bodily functions would be enough to drive any man insane. Simon was no saint, he'd lost patience after the first hour, but he'd had no option but to put up with it. After all this was a mission of mercy.

By the time the shuttle had Docked, Jayne was thoroughly enjoying baiting Simon and Simon was ready to strangle the mercenary. But how Jayne had taken Simon's purple-faced screaming fit as a come-on was anyone's guess.

Still blinking dumbly at the hatch, he almost jumped out of his skin when Kaylee waved her hand in front of his face. "You plannin' on standing there all day Simon?" she smiled, stuffing her hands into the pockets of her overalls. "Only cap'n wants the shuttle checked over ready for another run."

Simon pulled himself together. "Oh, of course. I'm in the way..."

"You could stay and help if'n you want?" she asked hopefully, even as he backed towards the hatch.

"Uh, no. I... no. I have to fetch more supplies. Medical supplies. For the next run."

Kaylee nodded, disappointment very evident on her face. Simon staggered through the hatch still feeling a little dazed and hurried in the direction of the infirmary.

 

They were all exhausted after two days of running medical supplies to the colony on Tybol's Planet, which had been overcome with an outbreak of redeye fever. Although it had been the captain's own idea to offer help, he wasn't stupid enough to land Serenity on a planet over-run with people driven half insane by illness, so they had been using both shuttles to drop supplies over the main settlement.

Wash had picked up a wave from an Alliance cruiser in the next system, where the fever had spread to three planets, so now Serenity was acting as a courier between the medical ship and the other effected planets. Simon wasn't permitted to make planet fall and give hands-on help, so he'd made himself useful by making sure that the right sort of supplies were being distributed. Other small ships had since joined in the aid operation, as more and more planets fell to the fever.

"You look tired." Simon jumped at the quiet sound of Shepherd Book's voice behind him. "And a little skittish too, if you don't mind me saying?"

"Yes, I'm tired. But we have another run..."

"Why not let Zoe and Mal take the next run? You need to rest, son."

Simon smiled tiredly and shook his head. "I'm all right. I'll have something to eat and I'll be fine. Thanks." Book patted him on the shoulder and turned away, well aware of what drove people to keep offering aid even when on the brink of collapse themselves.

Simon had expected the kitchen to be deserted. Zoe and Mal were on the bridge; Kaylee and Wash were checking the shuttles and Inara was bunking down with River in the guest quarters. Which was also where he expected Jayne to be, not here, sitting at the table eating the largest sandwich Simon had ever seen. He almost didn't go in, but Jayne had already seen him so it would have seemed cowardly.

"Doc," Jayne mumbled around a mouthful of unidentifiable ingredients, nodding polite-as-you-like. Simon fetched a clean plate and slipped into the bench seat opposite Jayne, reaching for the loaf.

"Jayne," he replied, just as polite, sawing off a large chunk of bread without ever looking up at the mercenary. He would have preferred a little more time to think about what had happened in the shuttle before having to face Jayne again, but it looked like the subject wasn't going to get raised over the dinner table, so he began to relax.

He watched as Jayne used his own blade to cut thin slices from a protein cube cunningly made to look like cheese, then drop them onto Simon's plate. He looked up in surprise, but Jayne was concentrating on slicing off another piece of pseudo-cheese.

Simon decided to say nothing, merely placed the cheese onto his bread and took a bite. His stomach immediately grumbled, reminding him that it had been more than a day since he'd last eaten. Even the could-be-cheese tasted wonderful under those circumstances and he closed his eyes in bliss as he chewed.

"You look like that when yer about to come?"

Simon's eyes snapped open in shock. Across the table, Jayne had put down his sandwich and was watching Simon eat with hunger of a different kind burning in his eyes. Suddenly Simon's mouth went dry and he had so much trouble swallowing his mouthful that he had to steal Jayne's glass of water.

"All right," he hissed, making sure that they were really alone in the kitchen. "What is going on with you? Is there any chance that someone could have drugged you without your knowledge?" It was the only explanation, and one Simon should have thought about sooner.

"Nope. Ain't drugged. Just horny."

"I... see." Though he didn't. He didn't see at all. There were women on this ship, beautiful women who Jayne should be lusting over. Although, Inara had made it clear that she would not service any of the men on board, and Zoe was very married, but Kaylee was nice enough to look at and River....

Simon shook his head violently, trying to clear that horrible thought from his mind. River was nothing more than a child; surely Jayne wouldn't be in the slightest bit interested. So, that left Kaylee, and she had made it very obvious she was only interested in Simon. Okay, not as much choice as one would think, but even setting his sights on women that were unavailable was surely better than going after the male crew members?

Again, the field was limited there. Book was a man of the cloth, Wash was too scared of this wife to even think about it and Mal was in love with Inara. Any fool could see that. Simon took another tentative bite from his sandwich, eyeing Jayne warily. Could it be that Jayne considered Simon 'better than nothing'? Not especially flattering.

"Well, this crisis can't last forever," Simon leaned back in his seat, trying to look confident and sure of himself. "I'm sure the captain will let us make landfall on some nice planet where you can buy yourself a whore for the night."

Jayne smirked and took another giant bite. Simon had to strain to make out what he was saying. "Ain't got the coin to buy me a whore." Jayne leaned forward and retrieved his glass of water from Simon's fingers. Taking a large gulp, he patted his stomach and belched loudly. "All this humanitarian aid shit ain't 'zactly making us money now is it?"

"But we're helping people who are in need." Simon pointed out quietly, knowing that wouldn't make any difference to a man like Jayne. A man who's main... who's only motivation was money. "We have a duty as civilized people to help out where we can."

Jayne got to his feet and stretched, arms above his head, legs apart to balance him. Simon found his eyes riveted to the furred stomach exposed as Jayne's t-shirt rode up, and had to blink a couple of times before he could get his damned eyes to co-operate again. When he looked up, Jayne was grinning at him smugly.

"How long you gonna pretend you ain't interested, Doc?" he asked, sliding one hand under the hem of the t-shirt to scratch his belly.

"I'm not interested. I have no idea why you think I might be. I can only assume you're doing this to annoy me and quite frankly, it's working."

Jayne leaned down, bracing his hands on the table on either side of Simon's plate. "Well - ain't the reaction I was aiming for, but it's a start." And with that he turned and left Simon alone, with all the clearing up to do. Simon poured all his frustration and anger into the task, using some choice cuss words that his father would not have approved of while he scrubbed down the table. By the time he was finished, he felt better about it all, and had convinced himself that Jayne was just playing a twisted mind games with him.

 

Stopping off at the infirmary to pick up his list of supplies, Simon headed to the cargo hold where Mal and Wash were loading the latest crates from the Alliance ship onto pallets.

Mal looked up when Simon climbed down into the bay. "Hey Doc, got the re-hydration tablets like you wanted. They wouldn't part with the atropine though, sorry."

"That's okay, I doubt there are many people left unaffected to administer it properly anyway." Simon scanned the list he held then checked the crates to find that most everything he had requested was there, and in ample quantities. "Can I give you a hand loading these?"

Wash shook his head, a friendly grin spread across his face. "Oh, now we wouldn't want you straining something, would we? The captain and me can handle this."

Simon frowned, unaccountably irritated by Wash's suggestion that he might not be able to handle the physical work. A cold smile spread across his face as he unbuttoned his cuff, rolling his sleeve right up. "Feel that," he demanded, flexing his bicep. Wash rolled his eyes but obliged, making suitable cooing noises over Simon's impressive muscles.

Mal gave the offered bicep a small squeeze and leaned in close, whispering in Simon's ear, "Jayne's gonna have his work cut out for him, ain't he? Likes 'em a little skinner from what I've seen."

"What?" Simon stumbled backwards, nearly falling over the loaded pallet in shock. "What do you mean by that?" he demanded.

"Now, Doc, don't get your britches in a bunch. He ain't all that much to look at, but he sure has his good points."

Wash was trying desperately to hide his smile behind his hand, and failing. "Yeah, if you don't mind the smell of gun oil and bad breath..."

"Actually, his breath smells fine. His dental hygiene rivals anyone on this boat," Simon let his eyes drift closed when he realised that he'd actually sounded a little defensive there. Why the hell should be care if the others though Jayne smelled bad? Just because it wasn't true, didn't mean he had any need to be defending the man. "Anyway, I'm not interested in him that way. Just because I'm polite and try to maintain some sort of dress code, doesn't make me sly, all right?"

Mal and Wash exchanged knowing looks and then without further comment, hefted the pallet between them and headed towards the shuttle. Simon let them go, deciding to start loading another pallet. He was too angry to be anywhere near other people right then.

The crates turned out to be a little heavier than he'd first thought, and within minutes, he as sweating. Running the back of his hand across his forehead, he eyed up the crates that were left. There was barely any airflow in the hold, and his expensive white muslin shirt was already sticking to his back. With a sigh, he tugged off his silk vest, and hung it carefully over a railing. No sense in ruining good clothes for the sake of modestly. The shirt came off next, though not before Simon had checked to make sure he was alone. Going around bare-chested was definitely not the done thing on the Core Planets.

The first crate was so heavy, that he had to slide it across the floor to get it anywhere near the pallet. There was no way he could lift it alone, but at least it was a bit closer than before. The second crate was a little lighter, and he was confident that he would be able to get this one onto the pallet without aid.

As he lifted it from the stack of similar crates along the hold's wall, he felt his muscles straining, and a trickle of sweat began to run down his back. He licked his lips, and heaved the crate up onto the pallet, grunting with the effort. He couldn't help smiling, when the crate landed with a thump exactly where he wanted it to. Wiping sweat from his eyes, he turned to fetch the next crate, only to freeze when he saw Jayne sitting on the pile of boxes with a huge grin on his face. How the man had gotten in here without being seen or heard was a mystery.

"Well, well, well," Jayne drawled, hopping down from his perch and advancing on Simon. "You been holding out on us, Doc. Hiding your... assets under all them fancy clothes."

Simon backed away, his eyes seeking out the protection of this shirt, but finding that now Jayne stood between him and the white muslin. "I was hot," he said stupidly, wincing at his own choice of words. "The heavy work, it made me sweat..."

Jayne was still advancing, and now Simon was backed up against the pallet with nowhere to go. Jayne stopped about a foot away from him, eyes raking him from head to toe. "Shiny."

Simon gulped, fingers curling around the sharp edges of the pallet. "I uh, I ..." his boot thumped against the corner of the heaviest crate and he stared down at it like it was a life line. "Couldn't lift this one. Think you could manage it?" That's it Simon, appeal to his macho, bigheaded arrogance.

Jayne eyed up the crate. Cracking his knuckles, he bent, wrapping his arms around the wooden box and with a grunt, he straightened his back, and deposited the crate with the others. He didn't seem in the least bit breathless. It made Simon wonder what would happen if Jayne ever decided not to take 'no' for an answer. Simon knew he wouldn't stand a chance against all that power and muscle. He shivered.

"Okay, I helped you out, now you help me out." Jayne pinned Simon against the pallet, one hand on either side of him.

"What?"

"That's the way it works out here, Doc. Favour for favour." As he spoke, Jayne moved his hands so that they rested on Simons hips, thumbs rubbing small circles that could be felt even though the heavy fabric of his pants. Jayne stepped closer, insinuating a knee between Simon's legs, forcing him to adjust his stance a little. Then suddenly he was being lifted, with as little effort as it had taken to lift the heavy crate, Jayne picked him up and dropped him unceremoniously atop the boxes.

He sat there for a moment, with Jayne between his legs, their faces at the same height for once, wondering what the hell he was going to do now. Jayne's eyes burned with undisguised lust. Time to find out if he would take no for an answer? Because there was no way he could let this happen.

"Put him down Jayne, we got lives to save here!" Mal stood, framed in the doorway with his hands resting casually on his hips and a small indulgent smile on his lips. Behind him, Wash peered round curiously, his own grin splitting his face in half. Simon blinked dumbly at them from atop the crates. There must have been more embarrassing moments in his life, but right then, he was hard pressed to recall a single one.

 

It was almost three days later when the Alliance ship finally declared the emergency over. Mal wasted no time in getting them the hell out of there, not even trying to push his luck with the medical ship to suggest compensation for the drugs they had donated themselves.

Simon had gone out of his way to make sure that he was never alone with Jayne for more than a few moments. Jayne had made it quite obvious that he knew exactly what Simon was up to and could bide his time.

They set down on the nearest world that could offer a decent clientele for Inara. No sooner had they hit atmo, than she took off in her shuttle for co-ordinates unspecified. Mal gave everyone their orders. "Okay, we still got a decent supply of medicines, so the first priority is to drum up some business. If we get some decent trade, we can re-supply the ship and then, only then, can we kick back and relax. Clear?"

"As crystal captain," Zoe said, jumping up onto the back of the RV and wrapping her arms around her husband's waist. Shepherd Book climbed up too, holding out a hand to help Kaylee.

"Me and Jayne got some repairs to do on Serenity. If anyone gets a hint of a trade, this is where I'll be. Just come get me."

"What about us?" Simon stepped out into the blinding noonday sun drawing River behind him. "What do you want us to do?"

Mal waved Wash away and then turned back to Simon. "Well now, that's up to you, Doc. So long as you mind after your sister, I don't rightly care what you get up to."

Simon could feel River trying to pull her hand free of his grip, so he held on a little tighter. "She gets a little cranky being cooped up all the time, that's all. I think she wants to go for a walk."

Mal crossed his arms over his chest. "If you recall, last time you and your sister went for a walk, you wound up kidnapped and near burnt alive. You sure you wanna risk that again?" Simon could see that Mal was being sarcastic. Still, it was silly not to learn from your mistakes.

"Here, take this," Jayne appeared in front of Simon, pressing a leather sheath into his hand. "Ain't as sharp as I'd like but she'll do all right by you."

Simon slid the gleaming eight inch hunting knife out of its sheath and looked up at Jayne, feeling oddly touched by the gesture. Of course he wouldn't think about taking it, but the offer alone made him tingly for some reason.

"Now Jayne, you should know better'n give a Doctor a weapon. They're sworn not to kill people on purpose," Mal grinned.

Jayne looked confused for a moment then rolled his eyes in disgust. "Oh, that's right. You got that hypocritical Oath don'cha?" Simon bit his bottom lip hard in an attempt not to correct him, while Jayne took back his knife. "Guess I'll be goin' with ya then."

Mal shook his head and thumped Simon hard on the back. "Fine, I'll wait till you get back to start the repairs then. Take your time, now. I ain't in no hurry to get started."

River finally managed to tug her hand free and made a bolt for the flower festooned meadow, so Simon had no option but to run after her. Jayne took a moment to check his gun was loaded then stomped off in their wake, muttering under his breath about crazy girlies and over-protective brothers.

 

"That 'un looks like a rabbit," Jayne declared, shading his eyes with one hand, and pointing up at the white fluffy clouds with the other. They were lying on their backs in the middle of a grassy plane watching the clouds go by with River snoozing under the shade of a nearby tree. She had run herself ragged in the meadow, collecting armfuls of wildflowers which she had woven into garlands. She and Simon wore them draped around their necks and in their hair, but Jayne had flat out refused to be adorned in any way.

"I think it's more like a dog. Rabbits have longer ears," Simon waved both his hands in the air, outlining the shape of imaginary rabbit ears.

"Depends what planet you're on," Jayne insisted, rolling onto his side. "Where I come from, they only got short ears, but really long back legs, and they can jump really high."

"Sounds like a kangaroo," Simon rolled too, no longer interested in watching the sky when he could be listening to the enigmatic merc talking about his personal life. "a large marsupial from The Earth that Was. On their hind legs, they could stand as tall as a man."

Jayne looked highly sceptical. "Ain't never heard of no rabbit as tall as a man, but if you say you seen them..."

"No, no, I've never seen one. Kangaroo's were extinct long before I was born. But I've seen pictures."

Jayne reached out and looped his index finger though one of the many floral garlands Simon wore. "You sure know a lot of stuff, Doc. Me... I ain't had much schoolin' and the like. Only know what I seen with my own eyes. Sometimes, I saw things that would make your hair turn grey, things that would give you the night terrors and have you waking up sobbing into your pillow. I ain't seen much beauty though."

Simon watched Jayne's finger trace the delicate petals of the dusty blue flowers. "When I do see it, I don't rightly know what to do with it," and then those intense eyes were looking right at Simon. Right inside him.

He cleared his throat and glanced over to where River was lying, still sleeping in the shade. "There isn't much in the way of beauty to be had in the 'verse anymore," he said sadly, "but what little there is, should be cherished."

Jayne's gaze followed Simon's to where River slept, her face gone soft and innocent in slumber. Wiped clean of all the things she felt and saw. "You think you can ever fix her?"

Simon dragged his eyes away from River. "Yes. I have to. She's my sister, and I love her."

Jayne closed his fist on the flower garland tightly, crushing the delicate blooms. "Don't think I believe in such a thing as love," he said, releasing his grip and examining the blue stains on his palm. "Anger, lust, pain. Them's things I'm acquainted with, but love? Ain't looking to find that."

Simon couldn't drag his eyes away from Jayne's mouth as he spoke. The mercenary had a slightly protruding lower lip, which made him look like he was pouting. The goatee beard hid it a little, but up this close... Simon continued to stare, as Jayne's pink tongue poked out and wetted down that soft, pouty lip.

"Just looking for a little stress relief between planet falls, is all," Jayne continued. Simon tore his eyes away from Jayne's lips only to find that somehow, they had moved a lot closer to each other, and that Jayne's hand was resting lightly on his hip. "No strings, no promises, no vows. You got a ton of stress what with your crazy sister and all. I can help with that. Whaddya say?"

Simon could feel waves of heat rising between their bodies, lying on the grass in the sunshine. It would be so easy to say yes to this. Jayne seemed to understand that Simon's first loyalty was to River. He understood how much pressure it was putting on him and he understood that Simon didn't really have the energy or the desire to go searching for love.

"I know what you think of whores, Simon. I know you got this chivalry thing going where you wont use women for sex, paid for or not," Jayne continued, pulling slightly on Simon's hip and bringing their lower bodies into shocking contact.

"Wuo duh ma!*" Simon groaned, squeezing his eyes closed.

"Don't have to mean a ruttin' thing."

Then Jayne moved and those hot, wet lips pressed against his throat again. Just as before, he gasped, letting his head fall back. This time, he didn't pull away. This time, he just let himself feel.

It was true that he'd never imagined being with a man before, but somehow, it didn't matter what sex the person was so long as it felt this good. He arched his back more, giving Jayne better access to his neck, hearing Jayne's deep-throated growl of triumph reverberate thought his skin.

"It burns, like wildfire eating up the trees..."

Simon jerked away from Jayne, peering over his shoulder to where River stood under the tree watching them. "River...?"

"Burns the flesh from their bones and leaves them white and naked under the sun. But they crave it, like they crave water and air...."

"God, River!" Simon shoved Jayne away and scrambled to his feet, reaching out to his sister in an attempt to calm her. There was no telling what would set her off. Perhaps she had been dreaming. Having one of her nightmares. Or perhaps she had awoken to see her brother being molested by another man. He saw the truth of that in the way she eyed Jayne suspiciously. "It's okay, River. Jayne wasn't trying to hurt me."

She was backed up against the tree trunk, shaking her head in disbelief, "They come in the night, they feast on flesh and drink blood. They take your soul and leave you alone in the black... in the black all alone... cold...so cold"

Simon stripped off his jacket and draped it around her shoulders, pulling her in close. "We need to get her back to the ship. I don't have her meds with me."

"What got her steamed up this time?" Jayne said, clambering to his feet. He didn't seem particularly mad that they had been interrupted yet again, more perplexed by the girls' odd reaction. "She been eating them blue flowers or something?"

Simon tried to draw her away from the tree but she dug in her heels, reluctant to get any closer to the hulking mercenary. "She's afraid. She feels... emotions. Especially strong ones and she doesn't understand them. She's just a child..."

"Begging yer pardon Doc, but she ain't no child. She done a bit of growing up since your folks sent her off to that academy place."

Simon would have been impressed with Jayne's recall if he weren't so freaked out that the man was looking at his sister like she was a grown woman and not the troubled girl she really was. Ignoring Jayne, he turned back to River. "Come on, let's go back to Serenity..."

"And are you sayin' she could feel what we were feelin'?"

Simon wrapped one arm tightly around her waist and taking most of her weight, headed towards the ship.

"Cos, that's just creepy, Simon."

"He doesn't need your wildfire!" River yelled over her shoulder, "He can't be white bones in the desert sand. He'd worth more than that!"

"Hush, mei-mei, hush." Simon quickened his pace, feeling her wind up tight as a spring. Looked like this could be one of her more violent outbursts and he really needed to get her to the infirmary and get some sedative into her. He hated having to drug her but sometimes there was no option.

 

Simon was nearing the end of his tether. He had seriously misjudged Jayne's staying power. He'd hoped that maybe if he avoided the man, then he would get bored and go annoy someone else. Turned out that avoiding anyone on a ship the size of a firefly was next to impossible. Over the next week, Jayne managed to find several legitimate reasons to be in the infirmary, not all of them involving copious amounts of blood.

He was never overt about this thing between them. But if Simon had to listen to one more double entendre, or endure one more accidental brushing of his ass as Jayne walked past, he was going to start screaming like a gorram girl. Everywhere he went, Jayne was there already, smiling smugly and grinning at him like it was all just a matter of time.

By the end of the week, Simon just couldn't take it any longer. If it was going to happen, he wanted it to happen on his own terms. Mal had lined up a job, which for once went smoothly, and everyone was in high spirits after stocking up with fresh foodstuffs and those precious few luxury goods they could finally afford. Simon managed to get all the medical supplies that he needed and a new dress for River, which she took one look at and threw back at him, cussing up a storm. How was he supposed to know that she no longer favoured pink?

It was decided that they would layover on the planet and take some well-earned R&R and soon everyone was buzzing with plans and ideas of how to spend the time. Inara found out that there was actually a good theatre in the town so she offered to take Kaylee and River to see McBeth. Shepard Book decided to make a visit to the Abbey on the outskirts of town, and Wash, Zoe and Mal were keen to try out as many taverns as they could find.

Mal was making ready to toss a coin to see who stayed with the ship when Simon stood to clear his and Rivers plates away. "Actually, captain, I wasn't planning on leaving the ship at all. Why don't you all go enjoy yourselves and I'll mind the store?"

Both of Mal's eyebrows shot up into his hairline. "Well, that's mighty kind of you, Doc. Um, no offence intended, but I still want one of the regular crew here too."

Simon waited a heartbeat before looking up at Jayne, seated across the table from him. Jayne had plenty coin in his pockets, enough to buy himself a whole harem of whores, so the chances of him giving it up to spend the night on Serenity with Simon were admittedly small...

"I'll stay with the runt," Jayne crossed his arms across his chest and stared Simon down. "Make sure he don't get himself captured nor kidnapped."

Mal's gaze travelled slowly between the two men, a tiny smile tugging the corners of his lips upward. "Hmm! Well you boys be sure and have fun. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Well that ain't no fun," Jayne complained, getting to his feet to clear his own dishes away.

Mal threw him a dirty look, tempered by the still evident smile. "Jun ta ma yao ming. Joo-ee**," he said meaningfully to Jayne.

"Rather watch his," Jayne replied just as cryptically, loud enough only for the three of them to hear.

 

Simon made sure that the mule was clear before raising the ramp and sealing the hold shut. Outside the sun was just setting, and he would have liked to linger a while to watch the sky grow dark, but he had more pressing issues to deal with.

"So, you finished playing hard to get?" Jayne stepped out of the shadows under the stairs and walked slowly towards Simon. "Ready to admit you want it as bad as I do?"

Simon stood his ground, refusing to look intimidated by the much larger man. Before he agreed to do anything, he wanted to know just how far down the list he actually came. He had his pride after all.

Eyeing Jayne critically, he met him half way. "Tell me something, Jayne. You have sufficient funds to buy a halfway decent whore for the night. Is there some reason you're unwilling to part with the cash? Do you think bedding me is the cheaper option?"

Jayne looked a little nonplussed at the suggestion. "You think I'm too tight to pay for it?"

"Crossed my mind." Simon placed his hands on his hips and gave Jayne a searing look from head to toes.

"You ain't a whore, Simon. I don't figure we need to be standing here talking about money exchanging hands. Quit stallin' and admit you want me."

Simon took a step back and licked his lips. Maybe it wasn't all about convenience and cost, but he was still unsure about Jayne's motives. "I can't shake the thought that this is all some weird game with you. I mean, you don't seem in the slightest bit sly to me."

Jayne shrugged, the muscles in his arms and neck rolling under the thin material of this t-shirt. "Man's been in prison as often as me, it don't make no sense to be to particular. Prefer women mostly, but a mouth is a mouth, and a hand is a hand if you get my meaning."

"Oh I get it." Simon walked past Jayne, deliberately swinging his hips in what he hoped was a seductive manner. "Doesn't have to mean a thing?" he cast over his shoulder.

Jayne took a moment to figure out that Simon was saying 'yes' to him. The smile that broke on his face was almost blinding when he did finally get it.

"Well, Ta ma duh!***"

"Eventually," Simon ginned, making a break for the upper levels, the sound of Jayne in hot pursuit a few feet behind sending adrenaline shooting through his body.

He made it as far as the top of the stairs to the connecting corridor between the Kitchen and the crew bunks, before Jayne's hand shot out and grabbed his ankle, sending them both sprawling. Immediately he was pinned to the deck by more than 200 pounds of hard, unyielding muscle. Jayne's breath was hot on the back of his neck, making him shiver vi olently, and for one panicked moment, he wondered if Jayne would just take him here in the corridor.

Then the weight was gone, and he was being hauled to his feet and pressed up against the cold metal wall.

"Go-se, Doc, you trying to wear us both out before we get to the good stuff?" Jayne bent his head and closed his teeth on Simon's neck. Simon groaned, breath becoming shorter as Jayne tugged the hem of his fancy white silk shirt out of his pants.

"Not here!" he managed to gasp, frantically trying to think of the nearest soft surface. The wall was freezing against his recently exposed back.

Jayne pulled back, eyes turned to black coals in the corridors subdued lighting. "Ma bunk's right there," he tossed his head in the direction of the bridge and Simon nodded, letting Jayne back him towards the ladder.

Then he was being shoved up against the wall again, this time face first, while Jayne's hands slid round to undo his belt. Things were happening way faster than Simon was comfortable with. He had wanted to be the one in control of this, which on reflection had been an insane idea. He didn't know the first thing about sex with another man, and clearly, Jayne was the expert here. Rough calloused fingers brushed over his belly and down to cup his crotch, giving his balls a light squeeze.

"Nice," Jayne moaned in his ear and Simon let his head flop back against Jayne's shoulder. "Pretty white skin, soft, like a girl's. You don't smell like no girl though." Jayne buried his nose in Simon's hair and inhaled deeply.

Simon felt his knees go weak and he had to grab a hold of the railing beside the hatch to keep himself standing. Jayne slowly undid the button of Simon's pants, slipping two fingers inside the heavy black fabric to brush against the pulsating shaft still trapped within.

Simon's eyes drifted closed and he moaned at the too gentle touch, but then the fingers were gone and he was being turned around, not so gently. "Hwoon dahn****," he accused the smug face hovering inches away from his own.

Jayne pushed open the hatch to his bunk but Simon had other ideas. He didn't want Jayne to have all the advantages here. Pushing away from the wall, he slipped past the frowning merc and climbed the few stairs leading to the cockpit. He knew he must look a sight, pants hanging open, shirt all un-tucked and his hair mussed up, but he was also aware that Jane was watching him intently, raw hunger in his eyes.

"You're joking?" Jayne asked, following Simon up the stairs. "You wanna fuck in the cockpit? Shit, Wash'll ruttin' well kill me. Or worse, he'll get Zoe to kill me."

Simon opened the door and stepped inside. "I thought it might be nice to see the stars," he said softly, looking thought the view port in awe. The cold vacuum of space scared the crap out of him mostly, but there was no denying that from the relative safety of a planet's surface, the night sky looked quite beautiful.

But his contemplation was cut short when Jayne pressed up against him, wrapping his big, muscular arms around Simon's waist. He turned in Jayne's arms, deciding that it was time to get a little bit more forceful. He wasn't used to being submissive in any aspect of his life, and he wasn't about to start now. "Take off your clothes," he instructed. Jayne frowned, loosening his grip a little and stepping back.

"Getting' a might cocky ain't we?" Jayne sneered, while unbuckling his leather holster and letting the gun belt drop to the floor. Simon leaned back on the flight consol to watch, careful not to accidentally press anything. Jayne was unfastening his pants now, and as he had failed to remove his boots, Simon assumed he didn't plan on getting completely naked. He watched avidly, as Jayne let his pants drop, one large hand massaging his impressive cock though the thin cotton of his shorts.

Pushing away from the consol, Simon moved in close, feeling the waves of heat radiating off Jayne's body and now he really, really wanted to touch. He pressed his hands flat against Jayne's chest, feeling the hardening nipples under his palms. He bent forward, sucking on one nipple through the fabric of Jayne's t-shirt, pleased when he heard the other man's startled gasp of pleasure. Okay, so he didn't have much in the way of experience, but he knew what he liked, and Jayne seemed to like the same things. "Sit down," he whispered in Jayne's ear.

"Gorram it, Simon, it don't feel right to be doin' this here."

Despite his obvious misgivings, Jayne flopped down into the pilot's chair and stared up at Simon through long dark lashes. Seeing him sitting there, palming his cock in anticipation, trousers at his ankles, eyes hot and hard, made Simons pulse quicken. With a lick of his lips, he kicked off his shoes and hauled both shorts and pants off. He made short work of the buttons on his shirt and was about to pull it off when Jayne shook his head. "Nah, leave that on."

Simon smiled and with one final lick of his lips, he whirled the pilot's chair around to face the door. He straddled Jayne's thighs, fingers immediately sliding under the t-shirt, through the rough chest hair to play with the enticing little nubs. Rolling them gently between finger and thumb he watched Jayne's eyes darken more with every pinch and squeeze.

"Wuh de ma!" Jayne ripped the tee off and tossed it over his shoulder, knocking three of Wash's plastic dinosaurs off the consol.

Simon grinned. "Thousands of years worth of evolution wiped out in one fell swoop...." He quickly bent his head and tongued Jayne's already abused nipple to shut him up.

Jayne had evidently decided to lay back and let the Doc do his thing. His head lolled on the head rest and his arms hung limply over the arm rests while Simon squirmed about trying to find a position that didn't have Jayne's cock jabbing him in the ass. He wasn't sure he was quite ready to go that far.

No scratch that, he was sure he wasn't ready to go that far. He needed to get off, that wasn't in question. He needed to be getting off with another person, also not in question. He might have imagined the person getting him off to have less body hair and more in the way of breasts, but beggars couldn't be choosers.

Jayne's large hands settled on his hips fingers biting deep into the tender flesh. "Don't get me wrong, Doc. I'm enjoyin' the view and everything, but could we get to the fucking soon? My John Thomas is 'bout ready to explode!"

"Delightful mental imagery," Simon gasped, bracing his hands on the back of the pilot's chair and trying to move his ass away from Jayne's cock. He wasn't about to let this man, or any man fuck him, but surely there were other things he could do. Pushing up, he reached between his legs and pulled Jayne's cock from behind to in front.

"Ooooh!" Jayne groaned, looking down at their two cocks now pressed tightly together. With a filthy little smile, he reached down, circling them both with one large hand. "You wanna get off this way?" he growled, slowly stroking his fist up and down their shafts.

Simon's breath caught in his throat, eyes wide with shock at the amazing sensations sleeting through his body, his fingers clenched hard into the soft leather back of the pilot's chair and he threw his head back, and whimpered. It was perhaps best to let Jayne set the pace.

And Jayne wanted a frantic pace. Simon could literally feel the build up of heat and friction as Jayne began to pump his fist faster and faster.

"Oh, good God!" Simon moaned, feeling the sharp bite of teeth on his nipple and the vibration of Jayne's muttered words against his skin. He could barely make out what the man was saying.

"Go se, Simon, so good, feels so... Gonna come soon, gonna come. Gonna mess up that perfect skin real good. Oh fuck! Oh fuck... Yes!"

Jayne's breathing became ragged and he buried his face in Simon's neck as he came. With one hand still wrapped tightly around their cocks, he never let up the punishing rhythm until Simon couldn't take it any longer. He cried out Jayne's name and spasmed violently, his rumpled white silk shirt falling from one shoulder as he came.

Simon's eyes rolled back into his head as wave upon wave of incredible pleasure shook him, leaving him limp and boneless. Trembling with release he took a hold of Jayne by the ears and sealed their lips together.

For a glorious, timeless moment, they kissed. Slowly, messily, tongues battling for dominance. Then Jayne was pulling back, a look of confusion on his face. Maybe he had recovered enough brain cells to realize what he was doing. "Don't kiss," he muttered, eyes dropping to stare at Simon's wet and swollen lips. "Leastways not on the mouth."

Simon finally got his breathing under control and he pushed himself up straight using Jayne's shoulders. "That's a shame, Jayne, because you kiss very, very well."

Simon watched the slow smile spread across Jayne's face. "I do? Well sure I do! Just cuz I ain't practiced much lately, don't mean I forgot how."

Simon shivered when a gust of reconditioned air from the vent above them wafted down over his sweat damp body. Jayne reached down for his discarded t-shirt, using it to mop up the mess a little then helped Simon out of the chair. "Best get outta here before someone comes along and finds us at it," he grumbled good-naturedly.

Simon was struggling into his pants, but the comment made him freeze. "We're not finished?" He asked in surprise. He had been so sure that this was going to be a one-off sort of thing.

Jayne pulled on his own pants, and collected up the rest of the clothes, wadding them into a ball. He scooped up a fallen dinosaur and placed in back on the consol. "Not by a long shot," he smirked. "But what I got in mind requires a bed, or leastways a flat surface and some privacy."

Simon found himself smiling as he followed Jayne out of the cockpit and down the ladders to the mercenary's bunk. It didn't have to mean a thing, Jayne had said, but somehow, Simon found himself hoping that it had meant a great deal. To both of them.

**Author's Note:**

> Translation of the Chinese words
> 
> * mother of Jesus  
> ** watch your back  
> *** fuck me blind  
> **** bastard


End file.
